Come, My Son
by LBIGreyhound13
Summary: Oneshot. Takes place during Bambi and the opening scene of Bambi 2 in the Great Prince's POV. What exactly was going through the Great Prince's head when he found Bambi wandering through the forest after his mother's death?


**Author's Note: **This is a fan fiction about the Disney movie, _Bambi _and its sequel, _Bambi 2_. It takes places during and after the death of Bambi's mother from the Great Prince's POV when he finds Bambi.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bambi _or _Bambi 2_. Disney does.

Come My Son

I walked through the forest in the snow in the dead of winter. It was quiet and still in the white blanket that covered the whole forest. I was almost thinking about ending my duties early and just heading home since there did not seem to be any danger around when suddenly I heard something from above me. I looked up to the crows.

"MAN! MAN!" they shouted continuously.

I knew that I had to get to meadow quickly. I took off and ran as fast as I could. I was able to feel my heart racing, but I could not show my fear. That is not what a prince does. Suddenly, I heard something else. It was a gunshot! I hoped to myself that Man did not succeed in killing anybody. I finally made it to the meadow. There was nothing or no one there. It was completely empty and quiet. Was I just hearing and seeing things? I could have sworn I heard a gunshot, but then I remembered the direction in which it came from. I walked through the meadow to follow the sound. As I walked by, I saw a small patch of new spring grass. There were hoof prints surrounding it. That's when I knew that Man was running after deer. I took off the direction the hoof prints were headed, followed by Man's prints in the snow. I started running again while following the footprints.

I do not know how long I was running for, but I knew I reached my destination when I saw Man from behind. I stopped short and was careful not to make a sound. He looked to be looking over something. I assumed it was something he shot. I walked a few more steps to get a better view of what or who was Man's new victim. If there was one thing I did not understand about this forest, it was certainly why Man even killed animals. What had we ever done to them? Did they even know what they are doing when they killed our kind? I looked closer. Even though I was too far away from him, I was able to get a good view as to who it was. I saw someone I was not expecting to see. It was a doe that Man killed. I was able to tell from the scent that I picked up and the wide-opened eyes I saw that it was…my mate…and my son, Bambi's mother.

"No!" I whispered to myself. "It can't be!" I felt tears forming in my eyes as I watched my mate lying on the ground lifeless. I then shook it off when I realized that there was a chance Man could see me. That was when I ran behind the nearest tree. I looked at my late mate again since she was still there. How could Man take her away from me…from Bambi? Bambi! I looked around and saw that my young son was nowhere to be found. Did he manage to get away? I left Man and my mate to look for Bambi, who I assumed was probably looking for his mother thinking that they were just separated. By the time I started looking for Bambi, snow began to fall again.

I looked all around the many trees in the forest. I could not find Bambi anywhere. I began to fear the worse for Bambi. I feared that something happened to him. My hopes were then raised when I heard something.

"Mother!" a small voice shouted. I was able to see in the darkness that it was Bambi! He was alright. I was correct! He was looking for his mother. He looked tired, frightened, and upset. I knew what I had to do. He was coming in my direction, but he had his head down while crying. He looked up and gasped in fright when he saw me.

I just stood there as the snow fell. I was trying to figure out a way to tell him what happened to his mother without upsetting him even more. Here was my son wandering around the forest not knowing that his mother was never coming back. She was gone forever. He was only a fawn who did not yet understand anything about death. I knew that I had to say something quick.

"Your mother can't be with you anymore," I finally said to Bambi as he continued to stare at me in awe and fear.

He then put his head down and closed his eyes in sadness. There was silence between us as I continued to stare at him. While he was mourning the death of his mother, I tried to figure out what I was going to do next. Bambi was too young to be alone. There was no one around to take care of him except for me. He would not last the night without supervision. That was when I decided that I would play my role as Bambi's father for the time being and take him with me. He finally looked up at me as a single tear rolled down his cheek. I felt my heart break when I saw this. However, I could not show it to my son. He was depending on me to take care of him and help him.

"Come…my son," I finally said to him as I began walking to my den. Bambi did not say anything and began to follow me. I saw him look back for a moment and then continued to follow me. I was able to tell that he was not sure about following someone he just met a couple of times, but he gathered enough courage to trust his father, the Great Prince of the Forest. I couldn't let him down. I had to get my son to safety until I could find someone to take care of him.

It was a quiet walk back to my den. Every once in a while I looked behind me to check on Bambi, who still walked behind me in silence with his head down. Soon the wind began to pick up forcing us to lower our heads and walk slowly. After a while, it finally died down just as we reached my den. I stepped aside to wait for Bambi to go inside. Before he went in, Bambi looked up to me. My heart could not help but melt when I saw the sadness and fright in his eyes. I didn't say anything but just stared down at him silently telling him to go inside and get some sleep. He went in and curled up into a ball to go to sleep.

Just as I was about to go inside myself, I heard someone approaching me. I turned to see Friend Owl making a landing on a nearby branch.

"Friend Owl?" I said to him.

"Uh, excuse me, sir, I hope I'm not intruding, but, well, I-I just had to come," he said to me with a sad look on his face.

I knew that he was referring to the death of my mate. I felt sadness finally splash upon my face and then turned back to my son, who was still sleeping soundly.

"Poor little fella," I heard Friend Owl say referring to Bambi, "so young to be without his mother." I put my head down as tears formed in my eyes again. "Well, if I can be of any help…" I heard Friend Owl.

Then just when he was about to fly away, I shook off the tears again. "Wait!" I said stopping him from going anywhere. I needed all the help I could get for my son's well-being. "I could use your help. Find me a suitable doe to raise Bambi," I said.

"Oh, yes, yes, of course, hmm…" Friend Owl stopped for a moment to ponder for a moment as I waited for an answer. There were a lot of does in the herd who would be perfect mothers for Bambi. I hoped he would come up with at least someone until he continued to mumble under his breath, "Food is so scarce, and…does can barely feed themselves…" I then realized that Friend Owl was right. Winter was not a good time for does to worry about another young fawn especially when it was a fawn who just lost his mother to Man. I felt hope rise within me when it looked like Friend Owl had an idea. He then turned to me. "Well, perhaps…you…could…" he said to me.

I was not expecting that for an answer. What could he be thinking? "Me?" I asked him with great confusion. I managed to compose myself and continue, "You know as well I do that a prince looks after the herd; does care for the young." We both knew I was right. It was a prince's job to look after the herd while the does cared for the fawns. How could I possibly look after my son AND the herd at the same time?

"Well you…are his father…and circumstances being what they are…" Friend Owl said as-a-matter-of-factly.

I stopped to think for a moment. Friend Owl was right. Bambi was all alone without his mother, and he was just too young to be on his own. Winter was certainly not the best time for finding food, especially for young fawns, and I was Bambi's father after all. We might not have known each other very well, but I knew he needed someone he was somewhat familiar with for the time being to watch over him. I sighed as I made my decision. "Until spring," I simply said to Friend Owl.

"Excellent. Who better to raise the young prince than the Great Prince himself?" Friend Owl said as he flew away from me leaving me with Bambi.

I knew Friend Owl had a point. Not only could I play my role as Bambi's father, but I could also show him the ways of being the Great Prince and prepare him for when he took his place as the Great Prince someday. I walked into my den to find Bambi still sound asleep. I made no attempt to disturb him as I made myself comfortable since it had been a long day for the both of us. I took one last look at Bambi before I turned to look outside the den. Though I did not show it again, I was scared when I realized what I just got myself into. I was to take care of Bambi, my son, until spring came. How would I take care of Bambi for a couple of months? I knew nothing on how to be a father. However, I managed to calm myself down when I realized that I had to do this for Bambi…my son. I promised myself that I would do anything to keep Bambi safe until Friend Owl found a suitable doe to take over as his new mother. With that thought, I fell asleep not knowing what the next couple of months will bring for my son and me.

Hope you liked it! Please review!


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